![]() ![]() Othello fears that other men will laugh at him because of the unfaithfulness of his wife, and his pride is what truly motivates his desire for revenge. Later, when speaking to Desdemona, Othello whines: "But alas, to make me / The fixed figure for the time of scorn" (4. When Iago prods him, Othello says: "My name, that was as fresh / As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black" (3.3.383-84). Othello's true fear is what other people will think about him. The insecurity Othello feels concerning his appearance and social graces ultimately leads to jealousy over Desdemona's love for him, yet, within this jealousy, his true fear and pride are revealed. And finally, insight is given to this appearance through the words of Brabantio, his father-in-law, who speaks incredulously of his daughter's love for Othello: "To fall in love with what she feared to look upon" (1.3.98). His father-in-law speaks of Othello's "sooty bosom" in reference to his blackness (1.2.69). His pride, however, stems from his insecurity concerning his appearance and social graces. Othello also suffers from the hamartia of pride. I solved the riddle by my wit alone" (433-35). Later, however, Oedipus' pride is revealed when, speaking of the same event, he says: "But I came, / Oedipus, who knew nothing, and I stopped her. The priest is referring to Oedipus' answer to the riddle of the Sphinx, which delivered the people of Thebes from the Sphinx's oppression. When the priest, at the beginning of the story, begs Oedipus to help the people in the time of famine and trouble, he states: "It was God / That aided you, men say, and you are held / With God's assistance to have saved our lives" (43-45). ![]() He believes that he is capable of establishing his own destiny apart from the gods' control or help. ![]() Oedipus' pride is revealed in his belief that he is greater than the gods. Oedipus and Othello have the nobility that a true tragic hero must have, yet this nobility is only the armor that covers the true weakness that lies within each man.Īlthough they show it in different ways, Oedipus and Othello both suffer from a similar character flaw, the sin of pride. His contemporaries also praise him as "brave Othello" (2.1.37), and they declare that he "commands / Like a full soldier" (2.1.35-36). In defense of his lack of noble heritage, Othello asserts: "I fetch my life and being / From men of royal siege" (1.2.20-21). He is an outsider, yet he is accepted by the Venetian people because of his distinguished career as general of the Venetian army. He is a Moor and a barbarian by Venetian customs. Othello, on the other hand, is noble only by deed. In turn he is made King of Thebes and marries, unknowingly, his mother, the queen. Upon coming to Thebes as a young man, Oedipus answers the riddle of the Sphinx, who is terrorizing the citizens, and rids the city of this monster. Not only is Oedipus noble in his birth and upbringing, he is also noble in deed. king of Corinth/and Merope, the Dorian" (834-35). He is then rescued by a shepherd and raised by "Polybus. Because of an oracle prophesying that King Laius will be murdered by his son, Oedipus is left to die in "the mountains where Cithaeron is"(1472). Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Jocasta his wife, the king and queen of Thebes. Through their nobility, their tragic flaws, the fall these flaws cause, and the suffering and wisdom they derive from these falls, Oedipus and Othello reveal the true character of the tragic hero and show the devastating consequences of pride.īoth Oedipus and Othello are distinguished by nobility: Oedipus by birth and deed and Othello by a distinguished career. ![]() Sophocles and Shakespeare both address this dilemma in their plays Oedipus and Othello. Most proud people will never consider themselves to be truly proud until they come face to face with the consequences of their pride. Its effect on people, however, is often subtle at the start and hard to detect. ![]()
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